Bindi
Visiting one of Australia's most exciting wine estates, in
Victoria's Macedon Ranges

This was one of my favourite winery
visits ever. In the Macedon ranges, a short drive from Melbourne,
Michael Dhillon is currently making some of Australia’s finest
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

‘We are 22 years in,’ says Michael (pictured
above).
His father, Bill, first planted vines here in 1988. The winery was
built in 1997, and 1999 was the first year that Michael and his
father paid themselves a wage. The wines show remarkable purity, and
also an ability to develop over time. ‘We never set out to make
the wines to age, but they do,’ Michael notes.

The story behind Bindi is an interesting
one. Bill came to Australia from the Punjab, India, via Malaysia, in
1958. With his wife Kaye he farmed sheep at Bindi, and realised that
he had to add value to the agricultural venture for it to be
sustainable in the long term. So he thought about viticulture, but a
prominent consultant told him that the land was unsuitable for vines
in the 1970s. In the 1980s another consultant gave the correct
advice, and the first of what are now 6 hectares of vines (4 Pinot
Noir, 2 Chardonnay) were planted in 1988, on the 170 hectare
property.

The man featured on the labels is Kostas
Rind, a Lithuanian who taught Bill at Ballarat grammar school,
became his mentor, and introduced him to wine.

It’s a stinker of an October day, and
we arrive early evening. It has been raining all week, and feels
more like the middle of winter than spring. Despite this, we manage
to dodge the showers to look round the vineyard, as the light begins
its slow fade.

Michael even shows me some yabbies that
he has trapped from the pond on the farm. They’re going to be
devoured the following evening, when a large group of wine people
are dropping over for dinner.

The winery is small and compact. There
are signs of biodynamic activity here: Michael has a couple of
dynamizing devices, one of which he claims doesn’t work, even
though it is the sort of design commonly seen in biodynamic
wineries. But Michael makes no claim to working biodynamically in
his vineyards. It’s something he does quietly and without any
fanfare.

We have dinner together. I am always
honoured when people let me invade their family space in this way.
Over dinner we chat and try some wine.

‘I’ll take harmony over power,
intensity and complexity,’ says Michael. This sort of attitude can
be seen reflected in his wines.

Bindi Block K Pinot Noir 2010 Macedon
Ranges, AustraliaThe first vintage of the Block K is 2009, so this is the second
bottling, but neither will be released for a few years. 70 dozen
were made in 2009, 120 in 2010 and 150 in 2011. Silky, fine, pure
red cherry fruit is just so expressive. Thrillingly elegant with
fine-grained tannins. Michael describes this as having ‘beauty but
ease: it is just not pushing.’ Fabulously pure with amazing
aromatics. So delicate with a sappy
hint to the fragrant cherry fruit. 97/100

Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir
2008 Macedon Ranges, AustraliaComplex, fine and spicy on the nose. The palate is fine and
multidimensional with great concentration and lovely finesse. Some
structure and a bit of minerality, as well as some spiciness. Lovely
silky red cherry fruit is the main theme here. 95/100

Older notes:

Bindi Composition Chardonnay
2008Rich, intense, toasty, mineral nose. The palate is concentrated
and intense with powerful flavours of pear, fig and spice, as well
as some toastiness and fresh acidity. A lovely complex Chardonnay.
92/100 (04/10)